PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #26 Share Posted July 22 Monday June 24 - Rome After a great breakfast we headed out into very light rain to explore more of Rome at 9.45am. The rain stopped shortly afterwards as we walked. Along Via del Governo Vecchio I bought a lovely necklace and we enjoyed looking in the shops. We stopped to watch pasta making at Osteria Da Fortunata which was very interesting to watch. We visited Basilica dei Sant'Andrea della Valle which is very close to Hotel Smeraldo. The church started being built in 1595 and has Pope Pius ll and Pope Pius lll buried there. We then visited Basilica Sant'Eustachia. As we walked through the Pantheon Piazza it was very crowded. We looked through the window in the boarding around the fountain to see the restoration work. A bit further along we visited the Chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena. On the two street corners near this church are two very popular sandwich delis. Both lines were very long and both had security officers to keep control of the lines. We saw this at a number of places in Rome. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #27 Share Posted July 22 Monday June 24 - Rome Continued Our destination was the Spanish Steps and the area was quite busy. We then walked down the road to Piazza del Popolo. In the Piazza was a large display for the 250th birthday celebrations of the Guardia di Finanza. We had a chat to a couple of the Guardia who explained to us that the Guardia di Finanza is a military police force who are responsible for dealing with financial crime such as tax evasion and smuggling, suppressing the illegal drug trade as well as border police and customs at Italian airports. They have boats, helicopters and aircraft to serve in patrolling the borders and territorial waters of Italy. They were very friendly and informative. We then walked up the stairs to Piazza Napoleone to enjoy the view over Piazza del Popolo before having our lunch in the park. After our lunch we walked along the high road back towards the Spanish Steps and enjoyed the great views over Rome. When we reached the top of the Spanish Steps we visited the Trinita dei Monti. We then walked down the Spanish Steps to head back to our hotel. After having a break at our hotel we walked to Campo di Fiori. The day market packs up in the afternoon and in the evening all the restaurants set up into the Piazza and there is a great atmosphere. We chose Giordi to have dinner at and we enjoyed our meal in the lively piazza. Once we had finished our dinner we went for a stroll before returning to our hotel for the evening. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #28 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Tuesday 25 June - Embarkation Day After a lovely breakfast we checked out of our hotel and the front desk ordered a taxi for us. Only a few minutes later our taxi arrived and we headed to Termini train station. It took about 20 minutes and cost €17.00 for the fare and two suitcases (€1.00 per suitcase). We bought our train tickets from one of the many Trenitalia self service ticket machines in the station. The machine had the option for English and it cost €4.60 each for the ticket from Roma Termini to Civitavecchia. We got the 10.42am train and there were very few passengers on board. We arrived at Civitavecchia at 12.00pm. Unfortunately the lift from the platform to the train line underpass was out of order so we had to carry our luggage down the stairs. We were glad that the lift from the underpass up to the exit was working. Just outside the train station exit was the bus stop for the port shuttle to the cruise terminal. At 12.15pm two shuttles turned up at the same time. Each shuttle was going to a different ship but the first one we went to was for the Celebrity Constellation. It cost €6.00 each paid in cash to the driver and the trip took about ten minutes. We arrived at the terminal and quickly dropped our luggage at the bag drop. We were then in a short line to go through security then made our way upstairs to check in. As we approached the counters the lady directing passengers directly us to the Priority Boarding Section and within moments we were checked in and walking onto the ship at 12.50pm. We went directly to our muster station where we were marked off and then went to our cabin to drop off our carry on luggage. We had a Deluxe Oceanview cabin 7002. We had been in the same cabin on Celebrity Infinity a few days previously. It was a bit strange to be in the same cabin on two different ships within days. The carpet and some of the furniture was different and I went to hang something on a hook only to discover that it didn't exist in this cabin. 😂 In fact it was quite strange walking around the ship which has the same design as Infinity but carpets were different, wall and door colours in the hallways were different, restaurants such as Tuscan Grille in different places and even a venue having a different name as the Reflections Lounge on Constellation is the Constellation Lounge on Infinity. After a few days we got used to it but it was a little disconcerting at first. Next up was lunch at the Oceanview Cafe which was very busy. We then met our dear friends at the Sunset Bar. We had met them on the Celebrity Reflection two years ago and it was wonderful to finally see each other on another cruise. We returned to our cabin at 3.30pm and our luggage was waiting for us. We quickly unpacked and met our steward. Dinner was in the San Marco Dining Room where we had a nice table with a view out of the aft window. After dinner we went to the Reflections Lounge for the Pub Quiz before heading back to our cabin to watch the Euro 2024 England v Slovenia match. Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #29 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Wednesday June 26 - Livorno We arrived in Livorno at 6.30am and the first announcement that passengers could leave the ship was at 7.15am. On the way to breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe we took some photos of the ship. The Solarium The Pool King Kong was on our cruise! The Sport Court The Rooftop Bar Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #30 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Wednesday June 26 - Livorno Continued After a leisurely breakfast on the back deck of the Oceanview Cafe we met up with our friends and left the ship at 9.30am. We got on a free port shuttle and after a short drive were in Livorno city centre at Piazza del Municipio at 9.40am. We checked in with the Shore Experiences rep at the shuttle stop and then went for a short walk to the Forza Nuovo and a quick look at the Livorno canals. We had booked a bus trip to Lucca and Pisa with TuscanyBus through Shore Experiences which cost €28.90 each. The bus left at 10.40am and we arrived in Lucca at 11.35am. We had a short walk to Basilica di San Frediano. This was our meeting point after our free time to return to the bus. We had 2 hours and 45 minutes to explore Lucca before our meeting time of 2.20pm. Our first stop was the very pretty Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. We then walked the narrow streets to Torre Guinigi which has a garden on top of the tower. It was a pleasure to wander through the quiet streets. Next was the Duomo di San Martin. Just around the corner was the Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Reparta. We had a much needed gelato stop in this pretty street. Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #31 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Wednesday June 26 - Livorno Continued After our gelato stop we walked past the Porta San Pietro gate in the city walls and went up on to the walls that encircle Lucca. There were views over the city from the wall. We walked back into the city and to Piazza San Michele where I admired the flowers being sold. We visited the lovely Chiesa di San Michele in Foro which is in the Piazza. Walking through the narrow streets we came across the Torre delle Ore Clocktower. Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #32 Share Posted July 22 (edited) Wednesday June 26 - Livorno Continued Strolling along Via Fillungo we window shopped and enjoyed our surroundings. There were lovely restaurants and stalls selling local produce. We had lunch at La Cranceria where we had yummy pizza slices. At 2.20pm we met up with our bus guide and group and walked back to the bus. As we walked to the bus we had our last view of Lucca's wall. We all thoroughly enjoyed our time in Lucca. It is a charming town and it would be lovely to stay there for a couple of days. The bus then took us to Pisa where we arrived at 3.10pm. We walked from the bus parking to Piazza dei Miracoli which took about 15 minutes. We were able to walk around the square admiring the beautiful Baptistry, Cathedral and Leaning Tower. We walked back to the bus parking lot and met up with the group at 4.30pm. The bus left at 4.40pm and we were dropped off at the ship at 5.30pm. We had a wonderful day and our experience with TuscanyBus/Shore Experiences was great. The tour was well organised and was an easy no stress way to enjoy Lucca and Pisa. There was a long line of returning passengers but crew were handing out cold water and cool towels. We were back on the ship at 5.45pm and returned to our cabin. The ship sailed away from Livorno at 7.15pm as we had dinner at the Oceanview Cafe as it was Italian Buffet night and we didn't feel like the Main Dining Room after our long day. We then sat at the Sunset Bar enjoying the live music. Eventually we returned to our cabin for the night. Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 22 Author #33 Share Posted July 22 (edited) I've just realised that I didn't post the paperwork from Embarkation Day so here it is. Edited July 22 by PurpleTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunset329 Posted July 22 #34 Share Posted July 22 Your review is fantastic! It feels like we are exploring Rome, the Constellation and ports with you. Where is our next stop? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgabriel Posted July 22 #35 Share Posted July 22 Thanks for your review! We are on the Connie in September and will be visiting several of the same ports. And we'll also be in Rome - which we haven't visited before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Scottishclover Posted July 22 #36 Share Posted July 22 Love your photos of Lucca. We stayed there for 4 nights last year before our cruise and just fell in love with the town. In fact I am heading back there in a few weeks time for a couple of nights. It has a great location and train connections for visiting Pisa, Florence and other places in Tuscany. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sushraya Posted July 22 #37 Share Posted July 22 Great review. We are on a similar cruise in Sept - only the last few stops you have are on our itinerary. Looking forward to seeing what you did at those ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #38 Share Posted July 23 14 hours ago, Sunset329 said: Your review is fantastic! It feels like we are exploring Rome, the Constellation and ports with you. Where is our next stop? Thank you! The next stop is Portofino and we had a great day! Thanks for following along. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #39 Share Posted July 23 12 hours ago, mrgabriel said: Thanks for your review! We are on the Connie in September and will be visiting several of the same ports. And we'll also be in Rome - which we haven't visited before. Thanks for reading. Rome is one of our favourite cities so I hope you enjoy your first visit there. Hope you have a great cruise! 🛳️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #40 Share Posted July 23 11 hours ago, Scottishclover said: Love your photos of Lucca. We stayed there for 4 nights last year before our cruise and just fell in love with the town. In fact I am heading back there in a few weeks time for a couple of nights. It has a great location and train connections for visiting Pisa, Florence and other places in Tuscany. Thanks! We had a fabulous time in Lucca and would like to go back. We've been trying to get there for years and it didn't disappoint. Enjoy your next stay! 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #41 Share Posted July 23 10 hours ago, sushraya said: Great review. We are on a similar cruise in Sept - only the last few stops you have are on our itinerary. Looking forward to seeing what you did at those ports. Thank you. We had a wonderful time and hope you do too. 🛳️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #42 Share Posted July 23 Thursday June 27 - Portofino The ship arrived off Portofino at 6.00am. After a bit of manoeuvring and anchors being dropped we were in position at 6.30am. We had breakfast on the back deck of the Oceanview Cafe so that we could enjoy the lovely view. At 7.30am we picked up our tender tickets at the Martini Bar. We had tender #1!. Yes, tender #1! At 8.00am tender one was called and we boarded a tender. After a very scenic ride on the top off the tender we arrived at the dock in Portofino at 8.15am. What a lovely way to arrive in Portofino! There were great views of Portofino from the tender dock. There may have been a selfie or two taken here! We had the enormous pleasure of being in an almost deserted Portofino before the hoards of tourists arrived. We were able to walk through the town and along the waterfront and be the only people there. What a privilege to experience Portofino like this! A personal visit of just the four of us to the pretty Chiesa San Martino was in order. It was a short walk up to the bus stop where we bought our bus tickets from the self service machine. The tickets cost €5.00 each and we got the 9.15am #782 bus to Santa Margherita. We arrived in Santa Margherita at 9.30am. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #43 Share Posted July 23 (edited) Thursday June 27 - Portofino Continued Our first stop in Santa Margherita was the Tourist Information Office on the waterfront where we bought our ferry tickets to return to Portofino. The tickets cost €9.00 each. The waterfront is very attractive with plenty of benches to sit back and enjoy the views. Our next stop was the Basilica di Santa Margherita di Antiochia which was built in 1658. It is possibly the most ornate church I have visited, full of gold and glitter. We then walked through the pretty streets and shops. We admired some of the produce available both at outside stalls and inside delis and may have indulged in some retail therapy. We stopped to buy apple tarts at a bakery and when standing outside the shop eating our tarts a baker was positioning a massive (as in the size of a large pizza) tart in the shop window. He gestured to us to ask if the tart was in the correct position and we gave him the thumbs up when it was in the perfect position. The next thing he came rushing out of the shop and gave us a number of slices of divine warm focaccia. How lovely and delicious! I was so busy eating I forgot to take any photos. A stroll along the waterfront looking at the beaches and coastline was very pleasant. Edited July 23 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #44 Share Posted July 23 Thursday June 27 - Portofino Continued We got the 12.15pm ferry to Portofino and thoroughly enjoyed the ride sitting on the top deck. We had lovely views of Santa Margherita as we departed. The views of the coastline as we made our way to Portofino were beautiful and we passed Celebrity Infinity on the way. The entry into Portofino was gorgeous. We could see from the ferry that it was a lot busier in Portofino than when we had left. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #45 Share Posted July 23 (edited) Thursday June 27 - Portofino Continued We arrived in Portofino at 12.30pm and the town was now very crowded with people everywhere. Our friends left us to go back to the ship. We walked up to Castello Brown which was built in the 16th century and became privately owned in the 19th century. It is now a museum. It cost €5.00each for entry. The views from the castle are spectacular! Inside the castle are photos of celebrities such as Greta Garbo, Rosalind Russell, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and Winston Churchill in Portofino during the 1950's and 60's. It was interesting to see what Portofino looked like then. We watched a film of the history of the castle and Portofino and walked through the castle. The stairs are decorated with beautiful tiles. But best of all are the views! We made our way out of the castle and to the path back to Portofino. Edited July 23 by PurpleTraveller 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #46 Share Posted July 23 Thursday June 27 - Portofino Continued On our way back down to Portofino we walked past Chiesa San Giorgio on our way to the port. There were views to Portofino as we walked down the hill. We joined the line for a tender at 2.20pm but had a bit of a wait as a superyacht was leaving Portofino and tenders had to wait to enter and exit the port. We got on a tender at 2.45pm and had our last view of Castello Brown. It was a rather rocky ten minute ride to the ship. It took 15 minutes to get off the tender as we couldn't get down the stairs from the top of the tender as there was a line to get on the ship and then five minutes to get through security. We were on the ship at 3.15pm. Dinner was at the San Marco Dining Room where we had a lovely meal and our Assistant Waiter made us a cute serviette bird. We had a quiet evening in our cabin. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #47 Share Posted July 23 (edited) Friday June 28 - Sea Day This was a heavenly and much needed Sea Day. Just the thought of not having to go anywhere or do anything was relaxing. On our way to breakfast at the Oceanview Cafe we saw that on every sun lounger on the Pool Deck had this notice placed on it. I don't know it was actually policed but a step in the right direction to try and prevent loungers being reserved for hours on end. We had a relaxed breakfast before going up to deck 11 to find ourselves two sun loungers. We settled in with a book and enjoyed the sunshine. As the morning went on sun loungers became in very short supply and there were many passengers walking around trying to find somewhere to enjoy the sun. At one stage when DH went to get our lunch from the Pool Grill I had six or seven people ask if they could have his sun lounger. At 1.00pm I went to the Reflections Lounge for the Captain's Club Welcome Event. I liked this light installation just outside of the lounge at the exit to the outside deck. I took this photo of the Reflections Lounge earlier that morning. It was an enjoyable event with drinks and canapes being served. The most travelled passengers on the cruise were a couple from New Zealand with 3,647 days and 65 cruises. Employee of the Month awards were also given out during the event. There was also a performance by two acrobats for us to enjoy. Later in the afternoon when it became too hot on the outside decks we returned to our cabin but not before having icecream cones. Dinner was at the San Marco Dining Room where it was Evening Chic night. After dinner we returned to our cabin as tomorrow was going to be a busy day in Naples. Edited July 23 by PurpleTraveller 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordylad Posted July 23 #48 Share Posted July 23 loving your review 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeebeeH Posted July 23 #49 Share Posted July 23 Enjoying your review and the photos, the market stalls with fresh fruit/vegetables, and the pastries look delicious. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted July 23 Author #50 Share Posted July 23 11 hours ago, gordylad said: loving your review Thank you. Hope you enjoy the rest. 😊 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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